Combs is currently commandant of the U.S. Army’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Smith is being assigned as deputy chief of staff of operations at the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Fort Knox spokesman Ryan Brus said the installation of Combs reflects the diversification of the Army.

“It’s big for the diversity of the Army and the diversity of the installation today,” Brus said. “I know (Combs) is very well respected in the Fort Knox community and I know other leadership here is confident she will move Fort Knox forward.”

The newspaper could reach neither Combs nor Smith for comment.

Brus said Combs has served at the central Kentucky Army post previously. She was the deputy commanding general of Cadet Command from July 2011 to September 2012.

According to her online biography, Combs became commissioned as a U.S. Army second lieutenant in the Chemical Corps in 1985.